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Liposuction Goes Beyond Fat Removal, Here’s Why

Liposuction Goes Beyond Fat Removal, Here’s Why

Liposuction is a surgical body contouring procedure that enables patients to effectively eliminate excess fat that is unresponsive to diet and exercise. It was the most popular surgical procedure in 2014 with 342,494 procedures performed. Dr. Samuel Shatkin Jr., board-certified plastic surgeon based in New York explains how aesthetic plastic surgeons perform liposuction with the ultimate goal of creating a homogenous contour of the patient’s body.

“I look at balance in a patient’s overall contour, so if I see one area needs a little more attention, sometimes filling a spot by taking away from a different area creates that balance” explains Dr. Shatkin. “The one fact about liposuction is that it has been tried and true for many years.”

The techniques and devices have improved; the cannulas are smaller, so plastic surgeons are looking at the aesthetic unit and areas of contour doing a lot more sculpting in addition to removing fat.

“As an aesthetic plastic surgeon and a member of The Aesthetic Society, I can sculpt and define the areas that are bothering the patient to come up with the ideal result. There are many tools that can help us understand contours but the most important thing is the plastic surgeons’ aesthetic appeal and how he/she can appreciate the appearance of the body and the skin, and using the technology to get the ideal result,” explains Dr. Shatkin.

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